


stop the world (i wanna get off with you)

by cassandralied



Category: Runaways (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Angst, F/F, sad bisexual weirdo nico minoru, sad lesbian glowstick karolina dean, villains win
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:35:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21715417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassandralied/pseuds/cassandralied
Summary: in a world where they never ran away, nico is still the same -using girls, using boys, using anyone to get over her messy feelings.evil!runaways, villains win
Relationships: Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	stop the world (i wanna get off with you)

Nico didn’t really think it was going to work.

And yet here they are, in a field of flowers grown out of the decay of everyone on Earth. It’s super morbid. If it was a movie, Nico would have loved it.

Now she doesn’t know how she feels.

Nico’s wearing white for once, and she looks more corpse-like than ever with her black lipstick and dark eyeshadow. She doesn’t know why she chose to wear the wedding dress, of all things. It had belonged to her mother, and Nico had just torn it a little and sewn on some black lace. Maybe she wanted a way to remember Tina Minoru, now that she’s just — _whatever._

“Nico, hey.” It’s Karolina Dean, and for once she’s not smiling. Karolina’s wearing a crinkly gold dress that must be a ceremonial garment on Majesdane, and old Nico would have wanted all the details about it -the fabric is so shimmery as it cups Karolina’s curves, and how is it so durable and yet so thin -but this Nico’s supposed to be in mourning.

“Can I sit with you?” Karolina asks. She’s not wearing her inhibitor bracelet, and the curls of her iridescent blue, yellow, and pink curls float up into the cloudless sky above them like a halo. Her skin shimmers too, the colors shifting, and Nico’s absurdly reminded of a lava lamp on acid.

“It’s a free country,” Nico says. “Free world. Whatever.” Nico’s wrists and neck are loaded with magical little runestones, gifts from her parents that are supposed to protect her _“on the other side”_. She tilts her head, thinking about the phrasing. Maybe Nico and the other kids are dead. Maybe this is heaven.

Karolina takes a seat, legs crossed, hovering an inch over a bed of plush white flowers dotted with uneven red spots.

“Alex and Molly are exploring the new world,” Karolina says, as if Nico’s supposed to care. Nico says nothing.

One of Karolina’s shimmery LSD hands comes up to rub at her own eyes. Even her tears are glittering. “Are you okay, Nico?”  
“I’m fine,” Nico says stiffly. “You aren’t.”

Karolina winces. “I miss my mom and dad,” she says. “I know they did bad things, but they did it for us, and I miss them. Is that stupid?”  
“No,” Nico says, and then reluctantly, “I miss them too, Karolina.”

She never thought she’d have something in common with the blonde hippie but here they are together, two high school stereotypes, a moody goth chick and a freaking vegan, alone together.

Impulsively, Nico leans forward to kiss Karolina, driven by a need to feel something and God knows what else. Karolina makes a shocked little noise, but kisses back.

She tastes like stardust.


End file.
